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In the past five years, Whitworth has hired seven new science professors and has seen a 57 percent increase in the number of students majoring in the sciences -- with another 50 percent increase expected by 2010. Despite severe space constraints, faculty have attracted competitive research grants from NASA, the National Science Foundation and other outside granting agencies and have expanded opportunities for students to be engaged in research. However, a recent study documented that the 40-year-old Eric Johnston Science Center is inadequate for current and future needs, and that assignable square footage for full-time science faculty is 23 percent lower at Whitworth than at peer institutions, putting the university at a competitive disadvantage in attracting students interested in the sciences. Preliminary plans are being made for an addition or companion facility to the science center that will provide additional classroom and research space while also allowing co-location and increased integration with the math & computer- science department.
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